Linear Perspective
by ohmytheon
Summary: While Ochako pursues her dreams as an art major, Shouto takes "eff off classes" outside of his major to piss his dad off and Izuku struggles with his crush on Shouto. Strapped for cash, Katsuki takes the nude modeling position for Ochako and Shouto's life drawing class. Nothing should go wrong with a job where he can't talk or move, right? Yeah, that's where they're wrong.
1. Chapter 1

Notes: Hey, guys! So this is my fic for the Camp Kacchako server's "Mini" Kacchako Bang. Yeah, so this was a 2k minimum event and I said it would be 10k one shot. That was a lie. This is probably going to be around 80k. It got way out of hand and I decided to just run with it. Viki (Youseimanami) was my collab partner for it and I couldn't be more excited. Stories were picked blindly and I was so ecstatic when she picked mine. She's been an incredible partner in this and has had such a hand in creating this. It's been such a beautiful and fun time.

* * *

Ochako loved her roommates dearly, but sometimes the very obvious sexual tension between them was strong enough to literally shove her out of the room. Even worse, Shouto was either the most oblivious person in the world or he was doing his best to ignore Izuku's massive crush out of politeness. She could never be sure. Right now, all she cared about was shoveling enough leftover takeout while writing her outline for biology while Izuku and Shouto did an awkward dance in the kitchen behind her.

"Oh, sorry, I'll just-"

"Hm, you're getting batter everywhere."

"Am I? Wow, I really did make a mess!"

"It's fine. I can clean it up."

"No, no, ha, I've got it. You don't have to do that, Shouto. You're being nice enough as it is helping me make these brownies for my class tomorrow."

Resisting the urge to snort, Ochako rolled her eyes instead. There went Izuku, rambling as usual when he got nervous. He was one of the smartest and bravest people she knew, but the guy had a habit of going off on tangents for various reasons. Sometimes, it was when he got excited about something he learned in class or was researching. Other times, it was about one of his favorite animes. This time, it was definitely about Shouto.

"Hey."

Ochako looked up to see Shouto standing next to her. "Do we gotta go?"

"No, you've still got time," he responded coolly. "Do you wanna lick it?"

"Huh?" Ochako blinked, her cheeks flushing despite herself.

Shouto held out the large paddle from the stand mixer they used to stir the brownie batter. "The spoon. Do you want it? You always fight over it whenever we bake."

"Oh, yeah, thanks!" Ochako excitedly grabbed the paddle, running a finger up the middle to get a big glob of the batter and sticking it in her mouth. He knew her so well. Then again, one of the first things he had learned about her upon becoming her and Izuku's third roommate was that she was a sucker for sweets. Batter and dough were two of her biggest weaknesses. "Ooey, gooey, chocolate deliciousness."

"I don't know how you don't get cavities," Izuku said fondly.

"Or sick," Shouto added.

Ochako happily licked more of the batter off and winked. "It's a gift."

By the time she finished cleaning off the paddle, it was time for them to leave for their night class. She hadn't got much more done for her outline, what with that batter distracting her, but it wasn't due until the end of the week, so she didn't worry about it. After making sure her backpack had all her supplies, she hugged Izuku from behind where he sat on the couch and walked out before she could witness the even more awkward dance that was Izuku and Shouto saying goodbye. It was cute and ridiculous at the same time. Shouto caught up with her, his face completely impassive. Maybe he really didn't notice it.

"Hey, I never asked," Ochako said as they walked through campus together. "Why did you sign up for this class? I don't think I've ever seen you take an art class before."

"I used to draw a lot when I was younger," Shouto answered, his gaze remaining ahead while she peered at him curiously. "I haven't for a few years. Seeing your art made me feel like I could get back into it."

"You used to draw? Seriously?"

Shouto nodded. "I loved it. My mother drew too. I wanted to be like her."

Ochako couldn't see it. Shouto was so serious. He always took those classes that made people's heads spin because of how serious they were. Sometimes she found him slumped over his desk in the middle of the night using one of his pre-law textbooks as a pillow. It was a little concerning how easily he burned the candle at both ends. Maybe an art class would be good for him.

"That's so sweet." Ochako smiled. "You'll have to show me some of your old stuff!"

"I can't." Shouto hiked his backpack further on his shoulders. "They're gone." Ochako furrowed her brow at the distance in his voice. "My dad tossed everything away after my mom was committed. All of her art and supplies, all of mine as well. He said it was worthless and wouldn't lead anywhere - that there wasn't a future in art - so there was no point in keeping up the hobby."

Pain echoed in Ochako's heart. "That's awful. Art is an incredible way to express yourself. It would've helped you deal with that." She knew bits and pieces about Shouto's history. He tried to visit his mother every Sunday as long as he had the time. Both she and Izuku had gone with him before. Still, it always wounded her a little when she learned more. "I'm really glad you decided to take this with me."

"Yeah." Shouto tossed her a sly smile. "Although my dad isn't going to be too happy when he realizes what he's paying for this semester: two art classes, acting, fencing, and dancing."

"Dancing?" Ochako blew a raspberry. "You're taking a dancing class too? Oh my god, Shouto, you aren't."

Shouto shrugged his shoulders. "They needed more boys. Plus" - he took one of her hands and effortlessly spun her around in a circle as they continued to walk - "now I'm really gonna be a catch."

Ochako twirled a second time just for fun and laughed. "You're terrible! Every boy in that class is going to hate you by the end of the semester."

Izuku was going to die if Shouto ever did this with him, which she knew he would. She could just see Shouto asking him for help if he needed to practice. Walking in on the two of them slow dancing in the living room while Izuku sputtered nonsense in order to keep from losing it. On second thought, maybe Shouto did know about the crush and was egging it on slowly.

"Still," Ochako mused in a playfully thoughtful tone, "this is a pretty high-level drawing course. Everyone knows that life drawing can be difficult, especially when we work with a model. Anatomy is no joke." She hipchecked him. "You sure you can hack it next to us professionals?"

"I might surprise you," Shouto responded, stepping up to the challenge.

"You can draw Izuku like one of your French girls by the end of the semester," Ochako teased.

Shouto shook his head. "It'd have to be in pencil only. If I tried to paint that, I'd run out of red paint."

Ochako laughed again. Oh, yeah, he definitely knew, but she didn't think he minded. She'd taken plenty of life drawing classes, some even before college, but she still managed to get excited and nervous at the same time. Every model offered something new and different to the table. Lately she'd been struggling with her own style versus what professors looked for in their students' art. This would be good practice for her, even if she did spend the first half of the semester awkwardly blushing. To be honest, she was kind of glad Shouto was taking this class with her. He didn't get embarrassed about anything, so maybe that would help.

One thing was for sure: this was going to be an interesting class.

* * *

"Dude, I still can't believe you're doing this," Denki laughed as Katsuki tugged a t-shirt over his head.

"Shut up," Katsuki muttered underneath the material before pulling his head out.

Denki grinned broadly. "I don't know why you're putting that on when you're just gonna have to take it off." He shrugged his shoulders. "You can just walk around shirtless like Eijirou does all the time."

"Shut_ up_," Katsuki repeated more heatedly.

From the couch where he was playing Mortal Kombat, Eijirou chuckled and cheekily added, "It's very freeing." As expected, he was shirtless, wearing a pair of basketball shorts, socks, and crocs. It was an utter travesty. Katsuki didn't get embarrassed easily, but how Eijirou went out in public like that without dying of humiliation was beyond even him.

Katsuki rolled his eyes at his roommates. He didn't know why he lived with these dumbasses. (Yes, he did. Rent was expensive as fuck and he couldn't afford to live on his own and double major at the same time.) He had tried to keep this new job a secret from them, but dumb as Denki could be sometimes, he found the ad tucked away in Katsuki's chemistry textbook. After that, it had all gone downhill. They thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Super serious Katsuki Bakugou, engineering and chemistry double major and part-time model.

It wasn't nearly as funny as it sounded.

The trouble with majoring in two difficult fields was that it didn't leave him a lot of time to work. Unfortunately, when it came to capitalism, he kind of had to do that in order to survive. His grants and scholarships supplied the money for his classes, essentials, and some of his bills, but he could always do with more cash. Holding down a steady job was hard when school would always come first.

He had spotted the ad by accident, but the simplicity of it caught his attention. Modeling for a life drawing class on campus. That sounded simple enough. He could brainstorm and think about schoolwork while he just stood there for a bunch of wannabe artists to draw. Plus, there were bound to be some cute girls in there. Katsuki was much more focused on his school and didn't have time to date or anything, but he wasn't dead.

When he had called the number, curious at the job, the professor had explained that her usual model quit last second and they needed to find someone fast. So far, the applicants had been...lackluster at best. It took a lot more effort than people thought when it came to modeling for a class. The few that they thought might work out had balked at the idea of standing nude for an hour or two twice a week while a bunch of people drew them from multiple angles and lighting.

Katsuki didn't give a shit about that. He might have secretly been a bookworm, considering that he was double majoring and had been forced to finally admit it, but he worked out too. He knew he looked damn good naked. None of the girls he'd hooked up with in the past had complained at least. For the money they were offering and the small amount of time it would take out of his schedule, he would do it.

Huh. That kind of made him sound like a hooker. Whatever.

Considering that he was going to spend most of the time naked, Katsuki didn't think about what clothes he put on, just some workout shorts and a t-shirt. He packed his gym bag, figuring he'd go after to blow off some steam before returning to the apartment to finish his biology outline, and walked out the door.

He very blatantly ignored Denki shouting after him, "Don't forget us when you're famous!"

Idiot. He was just jealous because he couldn't get the gig. Apparently, he was really into artsy chicks this year. He changed his mind every year on what his type was. One day he'd figure it out what he liked. Until then, he'd remain the indecisive, little shit that he was. Katsuki at least knew what he liked. So far, no one had really caught his interest and he hadn't really dated anyone for a year. It didn't matter. Let Denki play the field and Eijirou the gentleman. He didn't have time for that shit. If someone caught his eye, then maybe, but it was highly unlikely.

Denki seemed convinced that Katsuki was going to find the girl of his dreams in this class, but he didn't think so. Nothing was going come out of this. If it did, he couldn't see it being anything more than a one or two night thing. After all, he was going to spending a lot of time standing around naked by the end of the semester. Sure, they were professionals, but they were also a bunch of college kids. Still, he didn't think much about it. This was a job and he did not mix things if there was a chance they'd blow up in his face.

Chemistry taught him that lesson well enough.

* * *

The moment Ochako walked into the classroom, Shouto holding the door open for her, she was greeted with someone calling out, "Hey, Ochako, I saved you a seat."

Ochako smiled and weaved her way through the stands. "I don't think the floor counts as a seat."

"Sitting in a chair just holds you back," Neito quipped, patting the smooth floor next to him.

Instead of arguing with him, Ochako set her bag down and plopped next to him. He wasn't wrong and knew damn well that she liked to sketch on the floor. Half the time at home, she could be found on lying on her stomach in their living room instead of in her room sketching at her easel. Different positions seemed to help her produce different art. Or maybe she was making it up and the real reason was because the floor offered her more space. She had a habit of being everywhere when she was in a mood.

Shouto hesitated a moment, his eyes sweeping to an empty chair behind her. "Do you mind if I…?"

"Oh, would you rather me sit up there with you?" Ochako asked, tilting her head back to peer up at him. She hadn't even considered what he would be more comfortable with. This was much more of her world than his and she was supposed to help him feel included. Instead, she'd immediately fallen into her old habit of pairing up with Neito whenever they had a class together. He was an arrogant, little shit sometimes, but he had excellent attention to detail and vision when it came to art and he was honest and friendly with her.

The look on his face now as he stared up at Shouto did not come off as friendly.

Shouto shook his head. "No, do your art where you feel most comfortable. That's the point, isn't it?"

"Too good for the floor, Todoroki?" Neito drawled.

Ochako swat him on the arm. "Don't make me move too."

Neito held his hands up in defense. "My apologies." He gave Shouto a smile that didn't feel too authentic, but questioning him would make her look like an ass if it was. She was used to his behavior with other people, but she wouldn't tolerate it with one of her closest friends and he knew that too. If he wanted her to stick around, he'd keep his antics too a minimum. He was smart like that. "You're new to this scene. It's easier to do art in a more traditional manner when you're not used to it."

That did not mean he was going to end his antics completely. He was still Neito, the big dummy.

The urge to bring up Shouto's old artistic talents came to mind to prove that he wasn't new to this, but Ochako stayed silent. It had sounded like something very personal. The fact that he hadn't attempted to draw or even pick up a paintbrush for over a decade made it clear. Besides, it was almost impossible to embarrass him. He could walk out of here having only drawn stick figures and he wouldn't blink. He was frank about his skills and where he also lacked. Art was her thing, not his, but it could still mean something to him again.

"I shall do my best not to embarrass you, Ochako," Shouto said as he sat down. From his spot, he would be able to look over her shoulder to see her sketchbook if he needed a reference, although she hoped that he would remain committed to attempting his own style. Even after all these years, it still felt like she was figuring out her own and it changed when she used a different medium. She wanted something that was noticeably hers. After years of just trying to make great art, she wanted to make her own.

And she wanted that for him too. "You would never."

"If you say so," Shouto replied, sounding amused like it was an inside joke. He even smiled at her faintly before turning his attention to unpacking his supplies. Maybe he'd try to prove her wrong by drawing atrociously on purpose for their first actual class.

When she turned to Neito, Ochako nudged him with her shoulder. "Be nice to my roommate."

"I'm always nice," Neito insisted pleasantly.

Ochako snorted. "Bullshit."

Undeterred by her response, Neito nudged her back and began to arrange his supplies in a careful manner. He was so particular about his setup. She once threw him off for almost an entire class when she hid one of his charcoal pencils from him to see what would happen. She'd been worried he wouldn't talk to her for the rest of the semester after that little prank, but he showed up for the next class as if nothing had happened. However, he kept a closer eye on her nowadays.

"Oh, by the way, did you hear?" Neito piped up. "The usual model for Kayama's class quit."

"I bet that threw her for a loop," Ochako said as she set her case down next to her.

"She put an ad out on campus to fill the spot last second," Neito continued. "Apparently she found someone or this would've been a much different class."

"Maybe she's doing it herself," Ochako mused. She laid a palm down on the ground behind her and leaned back as she thought about the professor in question. "She's beautiful. She looks like she used to model lingerie."

Neito chuckled. "Half the class would die of shock. Most of us are desensitized by now to naked models, but even art majors would struggle with her."

"Calling yourself out?" Ochako teased.

"As if." Neito laid a hand over his heart. "I'm a professional artist."

He was actually an architecture major, but his art minor helped him tremendously. Plus, he had a natural talent that he'd been working on for years. Despite his careless attitude and penchant for coming off as the best in the class, he had an actual skill to back it up and she knew he was very serious about his art. It wouldn't be the kind that was placed in museums and galleries. No, his art would hopefully be the museums and galleries that displayed hers. That was the dream, wasn't it?

"Good evening, class." Professor Kayama's stilettos were dangerously high and thin. Every step she took on the concrete floor echoed through the room. "I'm happy to see a lot of familiar faces" - she winked at Ochako and Neito - "and exhilarated to find some new faces too."

Shouto wasn't the only one new to art. Ochako didn't recognize three girls, an older man, and a red-faced boy who looked in danger of passing out before class had even begun. Then again, it was an understandable reaction, even if it was hilarious in light of Shouto's completely straight face beside him. Kayama always dressed sharp enough to kill a man for class, even her glasses one step away from being a murder weapon. Ochako admired the hell out of her. Stunning as she was - and she knew it - she was also a well-known artist in her community and passionate about helping her students cultivate their own skills.

"As some of you are aware, I had to find a replacement model for our class last minute," Kayama stated once she reached the middle of the class. Situated in a circle, each student was ensured their own unique angle for the lesson, which would change as they moved to different time limits for each drawing. "The replacement is new to modeling, but I'm confident in his abilities. Treat him with respect. I'd like to keep this one."

The number one rule of any life drawing class was to treat the model with respect. After all, they wouldn't have a proper class without them. Not every model stood naked before them. Chances were there would be classes when he would be fully clothed so they could figure out their way around that. Kayama liked to experiment, which was part of the reason why Ochako loved taking her classes so much. She was utterly fearless. That put some students off, but not Ochako. That attitude helped her thrive and become bolder.

"Another male model," Neito sighed.

"Don't sound so disappointed," Ochako murmured. "They're not here for you to ogle."

"I really wanted to work on my female anatomy," Neito replied, turning his nose up at her. "Ah, oh well, another time then."

Ochako snickered. "You're such an art nerd."

"You say that like it's a bad thing when you're even worse than me," Neito pointed out. Again, he wasn't wrong. Quite a few people thought he was kind of an asshole, but Ochako knew after having class with him multiple times that he genuinely cared about art. He liked and wanted to improve. She'd seen his portfolio before and it was incredibly diverse. There was a lot hidden under that smug, careless attitude that he exuded, a bit like how she knew there was much more to Shouto than the impassive air that radiated from him.

"Class," Professor Kayama announced, "I'd like you to welcome Katsuki Bakugou."

The door opened once more to reveal a guy their age. Judging from the way he slunk inside with his shoulders hunched and a backpack slid over his shoulder, he must've been a student on campus. His blonde hair was wild and spiky - a nightmare to draw - and his red eyes sharp and dynamic - even more difficult to capture. He had equally sharp features, but when he turned his head to survey the room, his face changed into something softer, not quite round like her face. It was interesting. She could see why Kayama had chosen him.

Ochako glanced back at Shouto and grinned. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"I can handle myself appropriately," Shouto replied. "Can you?"

"I remain committed to the professionalism of my art," Ochako said snottily before dissolving into playful giggles. He smiled. This wouldn't bother her at all. Their model wasn't her first and he wouldn't be her last. It had been awkward in the beginning, but now she was used to it. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see if Shouto squirmed at all during this class.

"Again, let me know if you need a break at any point," Kayama said.

"Yeah, yeah," their model - Katsuki - grumbled. When his eyes landed on Ochako on the floor in the front row, he stopped for a moment. Despite the fact that she had seen countless of models of varying levels of attractiveness, her heart skipped a beat as he stared her down. He looked familiar, now that she surveyed him. She gave him a smile, hoping it might reassure whatever nerves he felt, but he simply scoffed and peeled his t-shirt off.

Oh, shit, maybe she wasn't ready. Katsuki was definitely on the higher level of attractive as far as life drawing models came.

Ochako was very professional and had taken too many life drawing courses since high school to get flustered over a handsome boy. She'd been forced to draw too many butts and other unappealing parts of the body to blush awkwardly and flail on the spot. However, even she felt the urge to clear her throat when he slipped his shorts over his hips and down his legs to kick them to the side where he'd thrown his t-shirt. Holy shit, he was in shape. Well, good, she needed to work on drawing more defined muscles. This would be a great exercise.

Neito leaned closer to her. "You alright over there?"

"Would you shut up, you asshat?" Ochako snapped halfheartedly.

He didn't even have the decency to not chuckle. She'd teased him about that in their first class together when they had a very attractive female model. It only made sense that the tables would finally be turned on her. She couldn't luck out of embarrassment all the time. Still, this was nothing. She'd seen enough naked men that even her last boyfriend accused her of not being attracted to him. She had been, but… A butt was a butt. It was hard to get excited about them after drawing the two hundredth one unless it was your thing.

This one would be no different.

* * *

The class progressed as normally as it could for Katsuki while he stood naked in front of a handful of people. They started with one minute drawings, which apparently allowed the students to get a feel for the model's figure but not have the time to consider it deeper. It also gave him one minute to briefly consider pulling his clothes back on and storming out of here. Did he really want to be involved in this bullshit? Could he actually handle an entire semester of this? He'd thought it would be a piece of cake - again, he wasn't self-conscious and, despite what his friends thought of him, he could remain still for long periods of time when concentrating - but it was weird.

Could he handle months of strangers drawing his ass and johnson in various positions?

It had only been a minute, but it had felt like a lifetime before Kayama instructed him to turn slightly. In those sixty seconds, he had decided that this was one of the dumbest things he'd done, but also he needed the money and it would keep from having to find a part-time job that would mess with his sleep schedule. Whatever he earned from this would tide him over. There was nothing for him to be embarrassed about and he didn't think anyone here would complain about looking at him, except for maybe the few straight guys who had hoped to get a hot female model.

The blonde guy sitting on the ground next that super cute brunette had seemed displeased upon his arrival, but before Katsuki could think to sneer at him, he'd got to work at drawing, completely unaffected. It was like he didn't even care that there was a naked guy in front of him, merely resigned to the fact that this was his fate for his chosen degree and he would dutifully suffer through it. The girl's eyes had widened upon watching him undress, if only for a moment, which had been satisfactory until she got to work too. Then it was business as usual.

A few other people reacted, some more than others, which made him figure this might be their first life drawing class, but for the most part, everyone just wanted to draw. There was that guy with the weird hair and mismatched eyes. He had furrowed his brow for a moment before putting on a face so impassive that it was like he didn't have any emotions to begin with. Still, he'd eyed Katsuki for a beat longer than everyone else before settling on his drawing with only forty-five seconds left. He didn't seem concerned with the lack of time.

A minute didn't seem like enough time to draw anything to Katsuki, but it was the start to today's lesson, one most of them seemed familiar with. During the interview, Professor Kayama had explained the different activities she did throughout the semester and how she varied each lesson. This first one involved them drawing him in progressively longer intervals and from different angles. Each time they moved to the next time, he would turn so that they had to draw him from a new perspective. It was the best one to start with for both him and her students, according to her.

The next round was five minutes drawings. Katsuki didn't feel the desire to stare everyone down awkwardly, so he focused on the back wall. Kayama had told him that he could look around if it made him feel comfortable, but it was easier to focus on something that wasn't a person staring at his body. That way, he could detach himself and think about other things to pass the time. Bio outline, chem reading, make sure Denki did his assigned chores for the week, a shit ton of math that would inevitably start to pile up in the next few classes…

"Time's up."

Katsuki blinked. He hadn't even realized he'd zoned out that much until he heard Kayama's voice. A few students sighed in resignation while others smiled or shrugged at their work before turning to the next page. How many trees had been killed for art classes? Whatever. He'd consider the ecological effects of an art major later on in the semester.

When he turned again, the cute girl on the floor was taken out of his view since he couldn't turn his head. Damn. That left an old man and woman right in front of him, which wasn't nearly as pleasant to look at during the ten minutes interval. Again, he focused on a spot on the wall. Since it was the beginning of the semester, he didn't have that much to think about in the way of school yet, so he let his mind drift elsewhere. Steps he needed to take in order to ensure this busy semester would be successful, the necessary breaks he would need to pencil in so he didn't lose his goddamn mind, working out, bills, kicking Eijirou's ass in Mortal Kombat and COD, playing the guitar he had stashed in his closet.

All in all, it turned out he had a lot of things he needed to think about that he'd never taken the time to stop and, well, just think about. He suddenly realized how stressed he'd made himself. For fuck's sake, he was trying to figure out a time when he could just relax and kept thinking, _No, that hour won't fit in my schedule when I should do this instead. _Maybe double majoring had been a mistake.

Or maybe taking a job that allowed him too much time to think had been a mistake.

The urge to shake his head came to mind, but Katsuki viciously stomped it down. He needed the money. He was just getting too into his shit. Once the semester started to move further into action, he'd be way too distracted by classes and homework to worry about anything else. The beginning of every semester always had him scrambling because of the unknown. Once he got into the swing of things, he was fine. Denki always marveled at his ability to multi-task, stating that it must be some kind of superpower. It wasn't. He was just that fucking smart.

The next interval was twenty minutes and he moved again. It was surprising how many things he could think of when it came to it. When he worked out, he always had music playing to distract him, but at the moment, he only had his mind. This one was a little more brutal because he had to search for something to think about halfway through that didn't involve what he was doing. Maybe it would be helpful if he could empty his mind. Ashido would probably tell him to meditate or get into yoga, but he wasn't about to take advice from Eijirou's sorta girlfriend. That would mean he approved of their relationship. Not that he didn't or cared, but-

And that was how he found a topic to think about for the last ten minutes of that position.

"This is the last one class," Kayama said once Katsuki got in position for the thirty minutes interval. "Make it count. Put your heart into this, but don't let it stray too far from the beginning. This should be a journey."

It sounded like flowery bullshit to Katsuki, but he'd never been into art. He was pretty sure that he'd never drawn anything in his life. It just wasn't for him. Denki doodled in his notes all the time, littering the pages with half-assed drawings when he should've been paying attention. Eijirou had gone to art museums with Ashido and created a series of admittedly hilarious snapchats using famous art. However, none of them were really into it or knew anything about it. The people here were like mysteries to them, especially Katsuki. He liked to consider himself a man of science, but art was all about passion and emotions and…

Yeah, it wasn't his thing.

As soon as the thirty minutes drawing began, a sudden realization struck Katsuki. So far, he had been turning around so that the students could see and draw him in different angles. Each of their drawings was a different perspective of him, which meant different areas to be shaded and body parts to draw. It should've been more awkward to draw him from the front, but no, all Katsuki could think about was the fact that the cute brunette girl was staring directly at and drawing his ass.

He kind of wanted to die.

Katsuki scrambled to think of something - anything - to distract him, but every time he did, his mind would inevitably drift back to her. He didn't even know her name, but now she had the perfect view of his backside and was going to spend thirty minutes drawing it. Maybe she would focus more on his back. The pose he stood in showed off his sculpted back muscles that he'd worked hard on developing. They had to be pretty difficult to draw, right? Maybe she needed practice with that.

Shit, and then there was that blonde little prick sitting next to her, the one who looked like the kind of smug art asshole that was talented and rubbed it in everyone's faces. Not to mention that mismatched pretty boy who had looked for a second like he had never seen a naked guy other than himself in his life. What if he hadn't and this was his first time? What did that matter? What if it wasn't that impressive? How many naked models had they drawn before? That girl probably didn't think much of him.

So many thoughts raced through Katsuki's mind in those thirty minutes. It stretched into a lifetime until it ended in the blink of an eye when Kayama announced, "Time's up! That's it for tonight, class. Let's review." She smiled in his direction. "You can get dressed now. You did wonderful. I can't believe this is your first time modeling for an art class. You should look into this."

"Yeah, I'll drop my double major and go into modeling," Katsuki said with a snort. "My parents would love that."

Considering that his parents were in the fashion industry together and his mom was a former model, they probably would enjoy it. He was not about to tell them about this gig. His mom would start to get ideas about him following in her footsteps and he did not want to admit that remembering her photoshoots had helped him in any way tonight.

As the students spread out their art out to compare and contrast, Katsuki dropped the pose and slowly sauntered over to his pile of clothes. He absolutely refused to rush. There was no way in hell that he would allow anyone to know that he had been uncomfortable for a single second. As far as these art students were concerned, he had been cool and collected the entire time. This had been nothing - it would continue to be nothing - and this whole thing would be a laugh by the end of the semester.

The moment Katsuki stepped into his boxers and tugged him over his hips, relief instantly swept over him. He had never been self-conscious before. Hell, he used to walk around his apartment naked all the time without even a towel despite having two roommates. He did not give a fuck. The only reason he didn't do that anymore was because he'd walked into the kitchen to get a drink, only to find Denki had brought a girl over. Needless to say, he'd been kind of put out when she asked Katsuki if he wanted to watch the movie with them. He hadn't, seeing as how he had an exam the next day, but the girl never came back and Denki never brought her up again.

As he slipped into his shorts, letting them hang low on his hips, Katsuki eyed a few of the drawings he could see. The cute girl and blonde guy weren't the only ones sitting on the floor, but his eyes naturally gravitated to them since they were the closest and their art was the easiest to see. They each had their art splayed out in order of time intervals to show their progression.

Just as Katsuki had expected, the guy's was more traditional. It reminded him of a lot of drawings and sketches he'd seen in movies. It was more professional and realistic, but showed an attention to detail and a good eye for the world around him. He could probably copy anything he looked at and make it look close to the real thing if he was given enough time. That thirty minutes drawing was pretty on point, as much as it pained him to admit it.

His eyes were drawn to the girl's art as the guy leaned over to point at one of them. They widened as he looked at her art. It wasn't traditional like he'd come to expect from art majors. No, her art was much more outspoken. Her lines were bold and dark. The one minute one was haphazard but there was motion to it, reminding him of the movement he'd been trying to mimic in his pose. With more time came more detail in her drawings, bringing him further to life with each one, until finally he finished with the thirty minutes drawing.

Damn, how had she made his ass and back look that good? Denki would've asked for the drawing and made it his tinder profile picture. What could she do with an hour's time to draw? He was actually kind of eager to find out. They would have to hang their final projects up in the school's art gallery for everyone to see. He could already hear the jokes about his ass literally being a work of art, but he pushed that aside. If she was this good, maybe he didn't mind after all.

Perhaps feeling his intense stare, the girl lifted her eyes and connected with his. Neither of them moved or looked away for at least a few seconds. Katsuki wasn't sure either one of them breathed. He knew he should look away, but he refused to back down. She didn't either, even as her face flushed. She set her lips in a determined line that made her look even cuter somehow and he smirked. That finally broke her and she looked away, turning back to look at the half and half boy behind her and ask him a question.

Chuckling to himself under his breath, Katsuki pulled his shirt over his head and finished dressing. He didn't look back at the girl, even though he could feel eyes on him. It could've been anyone in the class, but he knew it was her. It could've just been wishful thinking, but his gut feelings were very rarely wrong. Maybe this class would be interesting after all.

* * *

Ochako refused to think about the model. She had never had any issues with it before, even when they were super attractive, so she shouldn't have a problem with this one. He did look a little familiar - with his clothes on, at least. She wouldn't have forgotten any of that had she seen it before and she surely had not. He was a student, so she had probably seen him around campus before. They might've even had a class together. She was pretty friendly and open, so she often talked to the other people in her class. He looked like the type of student who adamantly did not want to talk with his classmates, which might be why she only thought he looked familiar.

Okay, so she was definitely thinking about him. That was not good. She needed to be completely professional and objective about this, especially since he was going to be the model for their class. A lot of teachers usually used different models for their course, but Professor Kayama sometimes chose to use one model for nearly the entire semester. She wanted to see what her students could do with the same subject and watch their progress. It made things easier since the students could become familiar with his body. It also made things more difficult because they had to work on not repeating themselves or simply going through the motions of drawing.

It was also easy to get tired of working with the same subject. At least this Katsuki was attractive and interesting. There had been an intensity about him that drew in the eye: from the confident way he held himself to the fierce gaze that dared people to question him. Ochako was kind of grateful that she got his...backside for the thirty minutes drawing. Getting those eyes just right would've been torture.

(Being caught in his intense stare would have been even worse. How was she expected to concentrate while under such scrutiny? He probably didn't know a damn thing about art, but the way he had glanced over her art and then her nearly made her squirm.)

Leaning back on the floor, Ochako tilted her head back to look at Shouto. "So what did you think?"

Shouto stared at his last piece, an almost imperceptible frown on his face. "Drawing butts is a lot harder than I anticipated - not that I ever anticipated doing it to begin with."

Ochako snorted. "Did it bother you?"

"His butt?"

"Well, I mean, some guys aren't comfortable drawing another guy's, uh, more private areas," Ochako pointed out, trying to be as delicate as possible. This was a little weirder than she'd expected. She had kind of thought that Shouto would be vaguer or gloss over it, but no, he was being so upfront about the experience. It was weird, but she liked it. He didn't always talk about how he felt or his opinions on matters.

Shouto shrugged. "That doesn't bother me. I've seen guys' butts before. Can't really avoid it in the locker room, no matter how hard you try." He leaned forward, propping an elbow on his knee and tapping a finger against his lips. He wore a thoughtful expression. "I suppose it was a better angle for the thirty minutes interval. Drawing his dick would've been strange. They're not exactly attractive."

Using all the strength she had in her, Ochako very seriously asked, "And butts are?"

"His was firm, so at least it had some definition," Shouto replied honestly.

Ochako sputtered, unable to keep from laughing any longer. "You're killing me, Shouto!"

Shouto pulled his focus away from his drawing to smile at her. "You'd actually die if you saw this drawing. I'm really out of practice." He sat upright to stretch his back and let out a sigh. "This is...unfortunate to look at."

"You haven't drawn in a very long time," Ochako reminded. "You're not going to be perfect right away."

"I'm not going to be perfect at all."

Next to her, Neito chuckled haughtily. "Not everyone can be as talented as me."

"Oh my god, stuff it!" Ochako shoved him hard enough to knock him over onto the ground, but Neito just continued to laugh while lying there. She rubbed her face. Sometimes he was too much. Not that she would ever complain about him. He had definitely made a lot of awful classes much more entertaining. Still, she didn't want Shouto to feel like he was being mocked or belittled. This was essentially new to him again.

Peering around her, Shouto eyed Neito's and her artwork spread out. Neito wasn't exactly wrong. He was particularly talented. He must have been practicing more over break because his art looked even more precise, although there was something off about his twenty minute drawing. Everything looked carefully done except for the side profile of his nose. It was too big. Facial proportions was one of his fortes, so she couldn't imagine why he had got it obviously wrong. Maybe he'd been distracted that round.

"I'll get better," Shouto said. He shuffled his drawings together, closing up his notepad, and then shoved them into his backpack.

"If you ever need another eye," Ochako offered.

Shouto nodded. "Right now, I think I'll keep these to myself - and, well, Professor Kayama."

"Totally understandable," Ochako said. "Whenever you're comfortable, I'm here to help. And he's an ass" - she shot Neito a look, but he just gave her a shit-eating grin in return - "but he's really helped me out too - and I'm sure he will do the same if you ask nicely."

Neito changed his expression into one of innocence. "Of course I'll offer my expertise."

Ochako frowned at him suspiciously and then turned back to Shouto. "Maybe if I ask nicely."

"I appreciate it," Shouto said dryly. They didn't know each other, but Shouto seemed to know full well that Neito's advice might not be as helpful to him as it was her. She was tempted to swipe one of Neito's pencils again, but thought better of it. He wasn't that bad right now. If, however, he did say something out of line, she'd take his favorite charcoal pencil and he would check himself.

When Ochako began to pack up her things, she was more careful with hers than Shouto had been. She wanted to make sure there weren't any creases. That could change the way a sketch looked and she wanted Izuku to see them as clear as possible. He could spend minutes pouring over her art and come up with points she hadn't considered or had been struggling with putting into words. Shouto wouldn't get nearly as much help from Izuku. Poor guy would probably just gush over whatever Shouto did. It was so damn cute. She didn't think he was even totally aware of when he did that.

"Oh, hey, I think a few of us are going bowling next Friday to sorta catch up," Neito said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I know it's way in advance, but I figured I'd give you a head's up. You should come."

"Please, I'd beat you so bad that you'd cry," Ochako joked. "Bowling is my jam."

"I'd like to see you try," Neito retorted, not deflated in the slightest. He liked strong women, in his own words, and she could believe it for once. "Besides, it's not me you should worry about. Kendo could go pro, I swear."

One thing that a lot of people didn't realize was that Neito was incredibly supportive of his friends. It took him a lot of time to warm up to people, but once he did, he happily jumped to their defense. Maybe she was lucky in that they'd gotten along almost right off the bat. She had seen the way he was with people that he didn't like. It wasn't pleasant. He would know better than to be outright rude to Shouto. She'd tell him off and even stop talking to him. Even if they didn't get along in the end, both boys would keep it cool, at least for her.

And guys said girls were catty. Neito might have met his match in pettiness with Shouto.

"Text me, okay?" Ochako said.

"You got it." Neito waved to them. "See you around, Shouto. Better luck next class."

"You as well," Shouto replied coolly. "You might need to work on your noses. The one for your twenty minutes drawing was way off."

Instead of getting insulted, Neito chuckled heartily and walked out of the classroom. Ochako shook her head. All of the boys in her life were so dramatic. He might think he wasn't in that category, but Shouto had his own moments too. He could go from zero to a hundred if something really pissed him off or caught his interest. Boy, would she hate to be on the opposite end of that. He could get intense, even more so that Katsuki had been during this first class.

With their belongings gathered, she and Shouto left class and headed back to their apartment. It was dark outside now, the sun having fully set while they were inside. She had never felt really uncomfortable or scared walking around campus on her own at night, but she couldn't deny that it was easier with Shouto at her side. No one had ever bothered her, but there had been times when she'd worried a guy was following her or things didn't feel right. Shouto didn't cut an intimidating figure at first, but she'd feel bad for anyone that tried to get into with him. According to him, he hadn't had many friends growing up, so he was very protective of the ones he had now.

"Do you think Izuku forgot the brownies in the oven?" Ochako asked once their apartment came into view.

"I hope not," Shouto said. "I worked hard on them."

"I bet he got super absorbed in his research, book, or documentary," Ochako mused. "Probably all three."

Shouto sighed dramatically. "That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I swear, his muttering woke me up last night and this is just the beginning of the semester." Ochako raised a curious eyebrow. "From his bedroom. My bed is situated against the wall adjacent to his desk."

"Mmhm." Ochako hiked her backpack further up her shoulder. "I hope he didn't stretch himself thin again this semester. I know he's ambitious and can handle himself, but he worries me sometimes. Remember when we had to force him to go to bed last year?"

"He'd been up for three days straight," Shouto said. "I thought he was going to start hearing colors."

"Our hopeless, brilliant, dumbass roommate." Ochako clucked her tongue. He'd gotten a lot better. Back when they had first met in orientation their freshman year here, he'd been too busy blushing and stuttering to actually respond to any of her questions. "Too bad he's too cute and sweet to get mad at. That's kind of a problem. You wanna get mad at him for not taking caring better care of himself, but then…"

"But then he stays up with you helping you edit an essay for a class he'll never take or bring home dinner when you're having a bad day like he knew in advance," Shouto finished for her. There was an unmistakable smile on his face, the light from their apartment catching it just right. She knew even he got a little self-conscious about his appearance because of the large scar on his face, but in this soft, quiet moment, he was terribly handsome. It was no wonder why Izuku had fallen so hard for him.

Hopeless indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

Katsuki didn't talk to his roommates when he got back from the modeling gig. The second Denki opened his mouth, he stomped into his room and slammed the door shut in his face. Not that things had been awful or humiliating, but he didn't want to talk about it. Later, when this became more routine, he'd let them do one of their stupid q and a's, but right now, he didn't want to come close to tripping up. He was worn down from going to the gym afterward and knew he wouldn't be up to par. They'd go out of their way to fluster him for sure.

Plus, he didn't want to think about that cute girl trying to figure out the right shading for his ass.

Instead, he got back to work on his homework until the clock read ten and turned in for the night. He kept a strict sleep schedule once school got in the swing of things. Some students stayed up all night studying and doing homework, but he'd figured out early on that getting a good night's rest helped him do better on tests than pulling all-nighters. Maybe other people could spread themselves thin like that, but he had to be careful since he was double majoring. He didn't have a lot of time to spare like the other two boneheads he lived with.

The next two days were business as usual. The life drawing class met on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so he didn't have to worry about it on Wednesday. If not for Eijirou's needling during lunch about what it had been like, he would have forgotten about it completely. There was too much on his mind to worry about such things. It wasn't until Thursday when he got smacked upside the head with his new job - and it wasn't even six yet.

Katsuki was scrolling through his Twitter feed on his phone in biology when he heard a girl talking as she walked into the room. Normally, he wouldn't have looked up, but the voice sounded kind of familiar. However, when he lifted his head, he was met with the sight of the cute girl from the art class. As if by fate, she turned her head away from her friend and connected eyes with him. She froze on the spot. He almost dropped his phone.

What the fuck? She was in his bio class? Shit, that was why she'd looked familiar. He saw her here Tuesday morning. His eyes had probably skimmed right over her. He didn't go about making friends with the kids in his classes and usually didn't get to know them unless he was forced into a group project. He'd met both Eijirou and Denki that way in their freshman year and the rest was history. Now he was stuck with them, seemingly for life.

The girl blinked and searched the classroom for a seat, finding few open since class was about to start. She had almost been late. Katsuki came to the awful realization at the same time as she did when her eyes landed at the empty seat next to him. Beside him was one of the few spots left in the lecture hall. That was just fucking great. Of course this would happen to him and specifically with her.

With a shy but determined smile on her face, the girl made her way up the stairs and through the row to sit down next to him. There were other seats open, but this was definitely the best option. Not because it was next to him or anything. It just offered a better view of the whiteboard and projection slide. She set her backpack on the floor at her side and began to pull out her things. He immediately noticed her textbook, which was worn down and obviously an older edition; she must have bought it online for much cheaper instead of going through the school's bookstore, which could cost an arm and a leg for books. Next was a flimsy notebook and cheap pen, a contrast to the laptop he used to take notes.

He was trying hard to focus on his phone, but then her notebook flopped open when she set it down and he caught sight of a page full of doodles in between notes. "Do you draw all the damn time?" slipped out of his mouth before he could even consider the words.

"Huh?" The girl sat up straight and looked over her shoulder to stare at him.

Shit, now that he'd said it, he couldn't back down and go back to ignoring her existence. He'd look like an idiot when she knew he said something. "Your notebook," Katsuki said, pointing at the page where the margins were covered with thoughtless doodles. "Do you ever stop drawing?"

"Oh." The girl laughed as she turned to face forward in her seat. "Not really, I guess? It helps me concentrate and also keeps me from getting sleepy." She carefully ran a finger down the margin of her paper, making sure not to smudge any of the doodles. "I know it looks like a distraction, but images help me when it comes to studying and it keeps me from daydreaming too much."

"You can't afford to daydream in this class," Katsuki said. "Professor Kan is no joke."

"Oh, I know," the girl replied. "That's why I already started on my outline."

A small grin quirked at Katsuki's lips. "Smart thinking. I bet most of these other idiots haven't even touched it."

"I can't afford to retake a class," the girl said. His scholarships wouldn't allow it, so he couldn't either. She tilted her head in a curious manner, the long bangs framing her face sliding over her cheeks. "You're Katsuki, right? Unless you'd rather go by Bakugou. I know some people are particular about that."

"Katsuki is fine," he replied gruffly. He didn't really care either way, but he supposed to was nice of her to ask. That was the polite thing to do. Eijirou had just started calling him Katsuki from the beginning, which was better than Denki's insistence on referring to him as "Bakubro" for a solid month. He still used the nickname when he felt like being a little shit.

She held out her hand, which he tentatively took and shook. She had a surprisingly strong grip for someone so small and cute. "I'm Ochako Uraraka. You can call me whatever you like. I don't care."

A grin stretched across Katsuki's face. "Anything?"

Ochako narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I'm going to regret that, aren't I?"

"Oh, I don't know," Katsuki replied as he leaned back in his seat. He propped his feet on the table and folded his hands together behind his head. "You might, Round Face."

Instead of getting mad or blushing, Ochako sputtered into laughter. "_ Round Face _? I don't know even what to say to that!" As she got herself under control, she shook her head. "Is that the best you've got? You really must not be the creative type."

"I'm a man of science," Katsuki shot back defensively, willing his cheeks not to turn red. Most people either got mad at him for his nicknames or they didn't care. Denki and Eijirou seemed to thrive whenever he called them names, even if they weren't all that nice. Weirdos. He hadn't expected her to laugh though. That threw him off completely. "Give me some time. I'll come up with something."

"Uh huh, I'm counting on it."

She turned to look forward right as Professor Kan stepped into the room and began his lecture before he even set his things down. The man was passionate when it came to teaching and he did not like to waste time. Katsuki snapped to attention, pulling his hands out from behind his head and his feet off the table. In order to ensure that he didn't miss anything, he allowed nothing to distract him during lectures.

At least, almost nothing.

Ochako took diligent notes, but in between times when they weren't necessary, he caught her doodling in the margins out of the corner of his eyes. He didn't mean to look, but her pen would start scratching away and he found himself drawn to her direction anyways. It pissed him off. What if he missed something important? It wasn't like he could ask to look at her notes because she had distracted him. He didn't know why he kept peeking in her direction. She wasn't even drawing anything interesting in between her notes.

After a solid ten minutes of paying attention without breaking his concentration, Ochako brought a hand to her mouth and coughed delicately. The sound pulled Katsuki out of his focus and he glanced at her. She raised an eyebrow at him, as if questioning what he was looking at, and then looked back at her notebook. He followed her gaze without thinking. When he saw a quick sketch of what looked like him staring obviously at her notebook in the header. His cheeks burned. Scowling, he jerked gaze back to the projection screen and refused to look at her for the rest of the class. She giggled.

"Is there something funny that you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Professor Kan called out to her.

Suppressing her giggles but not succeeding with her smile, Ochako embarrassedly replied, "No, sir, sorry."

Professor Kan settled Katsuki with a piercing gaze so sharp that he nearly jumped in his seat. "I would advise you not to distract your classmates with jokes, young man. It's rude."

Katsuki's jaw dropped in shock. Before he could even defend himself and point out that she was the one distracting him with her drawing, Kan was back to wrapping up his lecture. Ochako just barely managed to keep herself from giggling again. Katsuki sank in his chair, genuinely debating on whether he wanted to take notes on the rest of class. Seriously, what the hell? He was innocent! She framed him!

His eyes caught her writing in the margins again, but instead of looking away like a smart person, Katsuki took a peek at her drawing anyway. Except it wasn't a drawing. It was a single word: _sorry_

Katsuki furiously scribbled in his margins: _no you're not_

Ochako smiled and shrugged. He set his pen down and tried not to blow a gasket. He couldn't even avoid her if he wanted. They had that art class tonight. Who knew what pose Professor Kayama would ask him to make or what kind of lesson she'd want to explore? She told him that she liked to do experimental things and she had not been lying. Maybe Ochako would get a full frontal view for thirty minutes this time. That would be fun.

Anyway, in other news, Katsuki wanted to bang his head against his desk. Cool.

* * *

When Katsuki stepped into the art classroom tonight, Ochako noticed a difference. His eyes automatically went to hers. She gave him the same encouraging smile as before, but added a wave to allow a hint of familiarity bleed into the greeting. Beside her, Shouto titled his head questioningly, but he didn't ask her about it. Oh, she forgot to tell him that she had bio with their life drawing model. Shouto often remarked on how friendly she was, so it was possible he simply believed she was trying to help their new model be comfortable.

That wasn't the case. She'd never known any of the models before.

While Katsuki started to strip down, Ochako suddenly realized that he was the first model she'd talked to in her class. She might've said hi, goodbye, and thanked them for their time, but she had never really stopped to get to know them. How friendly of her was that? Why hadn't she ever reached out to do more? Had she thought it would be weird? Drawing someone naked when you talked with them a few hours before?

Maybe it was a little weird, but Ochako was a professional. She wasn't about to get awkward or flustered simply because she sat next to Katsuki fully clothed in bio.

"You all good over there, Ochako?" Neito teased as he twirled a pencil between his fingers. "You're squirming a little more than usual."

Ochako shot him a cool glare, a look she had learned from Shouto. "I'm perfectly fine. Are you trying to push your luck, Neito?"

"Only looking out for you," Neito chuckled. She rolled her eyes, but then focused on her canvas instead of Katsuki as he stepped out of his pants. Her breathing was absolutely steady and she remained unaffected, but she could feel his eyes on her. Why was he looking at her? Was he trying to get back at her for teasing and getting him in trouble with Professor Kan? She hadn't originally meant for their teacher to call him out, but it had been so funny to watch him flail and become flustered afterward. He had pouted for the rest of class.

Attractive and in shape as he was, she hadn't really painted Katsuki as a nerd, but he was serious about school.

"We're going to working on multiple poses from the same point of view, using fifteen-minute intervals," Professor Kayama explained. "If you could take a seat for tonight's session?"

"You got it," Katsuki said before he rid himself of the last of his clothing. Ochako didn't mean to glance at him right at the moment, but she did and accidentally connected eyes with him in the process. He smirked, not even bothering to hide it. Determined not to blush, she narrowed her eyes and tore her gaze back to the blank canvas. If he kept this up, not only were Shouto and Neito going to get ideas about them, but so would the rest of class. That was how rumors got started and she did not want to be known as someone who couldn't be professional.

Katsuki was the model. She was the artist. This was a class. It was a well-known fact that you didn't dip your pen in the company ink - just your brush in the paint, in this case.

"Instead of using a fresh canvas, I would like you to use the same one for every sketch," Kayama continued. "That might mean drawing over a former one in some places to fit them all on the canvas. Be creative."

This was one of Uraraka's favorite drawing exercises. Sometimes the end product looked chaotic, but she liked the way it pushed the creative boundaries and forced her to think outside the box - or in the box. A lot of newer artists struggled with it since they drew too big at first. It was kind of like when writing a sign. The first letters were always big and bold, only to realize when you got near the end of the word that there wasn't enough room. She had hated it at first; now she loved it.

Shouto sighed in a way that made her realize he was thinking the same thing as her. "This is going to be nothing short of a disaster."

"I can give you any pointers if you need them," Ochako said. "This is one of Professor Kayama's favorite exercises, so she can help you out too."

After looking over to Kayama, whose pencil skirt and opened up blouse could not be any tighter, Shouto shook his head. "Only as a last resort."

Ochako giggled. A part of her wondered if Kayama dressed so outrageously in order to make the models more comfortable. They were naked yet it sometimes felt like she was more exposed. Then again, if she had a body like Kayama's, she might not want to hide it either. Izuku said she looked great, but as much as she adored him and his earnest compliments, it would've been nice to hear it from other guys too. When was the last time a guy had flirted with her? When was the last time she'd tried? A year ago?

All those times she teased Shouto about needing to get out and she had holed herself up too. They both needed to get out apparently. Maybe she could drag the two of them out bowling tomorrow. Neito might roll his eyes a little if she showed up with Shouto and Izuku in tow, but he honestly wouldn't mind in the end.

As Katsuki sat in his designated chair in the middle, he glowered at Neito and said, "You better get my nose right this time." Ah, so he had seen that when gazing in their direction, assessing what they had done. She had noticed that Neito's proportions were off too, but forgot to bring it up with him. Everyone had their off days. It was strange since everything else had been in his usual, carefully constructed style.

Instead of startling at being called out in front of everyone by the class model, who was typically silent the entire time, Neito smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Well, that was odd. Normally nothing missed Neito's sharp eyes. Maybe he'd been distracted. It happened, like when she had the opportunity to steal his pencils and hide them. She shook her head and turned back to make sure she had everything ready for the lesson. Once she started drawing, she typically fell into a hyper-focused state that she loathed interrupting. Whenever she got like that at home, even Izuku and Shouto knew not to bother her, mostly because Izuku had a similar habit. At least she didn't mutter under her breath like he did or Shouto would be likely to move out.

The first interval started. Taking a deep breath, Ochako got to work. It wasn't long before she got in the zone and completely forgot about everything resting on her mind. The teasing and the smirk - all that was behind her as she began to draw. She loved the feeling that swept over her as he lost herself in her art. It was like being in another world, one filled with bold strokes, thin pencil lines, and shade after shade after shade. She couldn't create the perfect drawing in only fifteen minutes, but she was pleased with the outcome when it was time for the next pose.

With him sitting down, she didn't get stuck drawing his butt for fifteen minutes. Actually, the positions he chose covered him up quite nicely. The room was kept warm to ensure he wouldn't get too cold or uncomfortable, but maybe he was more relaxed this way. He had seemed perfectly fine exposing himself entirely to strangers in the last class (surprising since Kayama had made it sound like this was his first time modeling for a class), but he did seem more at ease this time around. His muscles weren't as tense under his skin, which changed the way she drew him tonight.

Shouto shifting in his chair pulled her attention away from her canvas, if only for a moment. While most students were busy sketching to get as much detail in as possible, he had paused and was simply staring at his canvas like he didn't know what to do with it. He tapped his pencil at the bottom edge of the paper, furrowing his brow, but other than that he didn't move at all.

"You good?" Ochako asked quietly.

"Hm?" Shouto snapped out of whatever reverie he'd fallen into and looked over to her, a relatively blank look in his eyes. "I'm just...wondering if I'm cut out for this."

"You got back into art less than a week ago after years of not touching it," Ochako pointed out. She wasn't used to seeing Shouto struggle with insecurities. He had his moments, like everyone else, but normally he was confident to the point of arrogance. He was exceptional at so much that it was almost absurd. When she had first met him, she'd been kind of jealous over how he picked up things so easily. "You can't be a prodigy at everything."

"Try telling my dad that," Shouto said.

It was a flippant comment that Ochako knew was meant to be a joke but was also true in some fashion. He used dark humor like that to throw people off and even get them to leave him alone if he was uncomfortable. She knew him better than that by now to let it get to her.

"How are you so far in your other classes?" Ochako asked. "Fencing?"

Shouto considered his response, still tapping away at the canvas. "The professor said I've got a natural talent for it, but he's also kind of creepy, so I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment or be concerned."

Ochako snorted. "Okay, Mr. Prodigy, this might be the one thing you need to really work on to get better."

"Good thing I've got you around to inspire me to keep going," Shouto said, nodding his head. "Thanks for not putting up with my bullshit." He stopped tapping and put the tip of the pencil back to the paper. "No more wasting time."

After looking over Katsuki again, Shouto drew his pencil down the paper in an arc without any hesitation, sketching the outline of Katsuki's hunched over back. It was too big, just as someone less experienced would do. She could tell he knew it too, but he pressed onward and didn't stop.

They'd spent precious time talking, so this sketch would be rushed, but she didn't care. She had struggled with her own insecurities for as long as she could remember. Whether it was because of her thrift store clothes, too curvy body, or issues with classes that revolved around memorizing, she worked through them all. While she didn't want Shouto to struggle too, it felt good to be able to help him this one time. This was her world and she was very protective of it, just as she was of her friends. She really was glad he'd decided to take this class with her on a whim.

* * *

The first week of school always passed by strangely. There wasn't a lot to do except prepare for the next week. Some professors got a headstart on assigning homework, but most used the week to establish class and explain the direction the class would work for the semester. Kayama liked to jump into things with a bang whereas Kan liked his students to be aware of everything they would do in the coming months. At least she didn't have Aizawa this semester. Apparently, he had thrown a pop quiz at them their second class. He was a tough teacher, but also a very thorough one.

It was kind of weird having class with the model for her life drawing class, but Katsuki must have truly not cared. Ever since that second day, Ochako continued to sit next to him in bio. She did her best not to distract him as much, even if she hadn't meant to the first time. How was she supposed to know that absentmindedly sketching in the margins of her notebook would catch his attention so much? He took meticulous notes too. Making friends with someone that was passionate about school was her specialty.

To be frank, it came in handy later on to be friends with people that knew their stuff.

Despite technically having two classes together, she and Katsuki didn't have much time to talk. Because her class before bio was on the other side of campus, she always got there last second, which meant that Kan started his lecture right when she sat down. He had a similar problem after class, so he basically rushed out the door as soon as class was let out. Besides a few formalities and smiles, there wasn't a lot said. She wanted to scribble a note on her paper in between the pauses of class, but she was anxious he would get disgruntled over her trying to distract him again.

In Kayama's art class, they had both subconsciously decided to remain professional. Besides a few knowing looks, smirks, and rolling of their eyes, they didn't communicate. Ochako didn't think Kayama or any of her classmates would consider it unbecoming for her to be friends with their life model, but it was best to keep such things separate anyways. She'd drawn most of her friends before, especially Shouto, Izuku, and Mina, but they had always been clothed and most hadn't been for long periods of time. She liked to draw candids the best since it helped her with body language and creating a natural air for her art instead of staged.

When she and Shouto made it back home from their Thursday class the second week, Izuku was in the process of cooking dinner. At least once a week, the three of them took turns cooking dinner. So far, she was nominated as Best Chef in the apartment. She had a handful of tried and true recipes that she went with. Shouto would survive off of takeout and fancy frozen meals if left to his own devices. Izuku was a good cook, but he tended to get distracted or he made things too complicated so the kitchen was a disaster in the end.

Tonight didn't look too bad. Luckily for their kitchen, he settled on cooking something simple. Last time, he had decided to make his own noodles by scratch. They were delicious, but they found flour in random places of their place for the following two weeks. Not even Shouto could hide the smile on his face tonight when he spotted Izuku wearing an apron and bounding around the kitchen.

"Hi, you two!" Izuku greeted. "I hope you're hungry."

"What's the occasion?" Ochako asked as she set her stuff down by the couch.

Izuku shrugged. "Just in a good mood, is all."

"That new special on Toshinori Yagi is on tonight, isn't it?" Shouto said as he lifted the lid to check what was cooking in the pot.

The blush that crossed Izuku's face was absolutely adorable. "Th-that has nothing to do with it…"

"You always like to cook dinner when you're in a good mood," Ochako pointed out. She jumped him from behind, throwing her arms over his shoulder and pulling him into a hug. He laughed as she propped her chin on his shoulder. "I am not complaining one bit."

"Got anything in the oven?" Shouto asked.

"Nope, just the stove."

"Good," Shouto said. "I want to make cookies for the special."

Izuku jerked around to watch him rummage in the fridge for a package of pre-made cookie dough. Their fridge very rarely lacked a package, seeing as how Ochako had a fierce sweet tooth. "You don't have to watch it with me."

"And miss out on seeing how excited you get?" Ochako teased.

"Besides, you'll just tell us everything they talked about anyway," Shouto pointed out. Izuku smiled sheepishly. He wasn't wrong about that and they all knew it.

About fifteen minutes later, they sat down to eat dinner. One thing Ochako loved about living with them was that they had actual meals together when they could. Sure, their schedules didn't always line up - Izuku was busy as hell with his double majors and Shouto's schedule was particularly sporadic with his random classes this semester - but they tried to do stuff together as roommates when time allowed.

While they ate, it was easy to get swept up in Izuku's talks about something interesting he learned in one of his upper level bio or history classes. Shouto now had a handful of fun tales to tell as well. She couldn't help but snicker every time she pictured him learning how to salsa, his abysmal attempts at pottery, and his adventures in acting with his very melodramatic teacher. Izuku was mostly interested in how Shouto's fencing class was going and for good reason. She bet he looked damn good in a fencing suit. Maybe they could attend one of his classes or a match. It would be good practice place to find action shots for her to work on later.

Once dinner was over, Shouto jumped to clean everything. As with everything else, they all divided chores. Living with with Shouto had been very entertaining in the beginning, seeing as how he'd never actually had to do household chores beyond keep his room clean growing up. There was the panicked phone call about the dishwasher bubbling or the look on his face when he ruined a few clothes in the wash the first time or his defeat to the oven when he'd burned their fish to high hell and smoked them out of the apartment. Any of those memories often brought a smile to her face. He was so intelligent, skilled, and unflappable - and yet he had been a lame duck around the apartment.

He got better after a year of living away from home (one, he had learned how to bake things in the oven properly; and two, he stuck to hand washing the dishes even though it took longer), but he still had his moments. At least he knew how to make excellent coffee, but that was partly because he splurged for the good stuff.

"Hey, I haven't seen any of your work this semester so far," Izuku said as he plopped onto the couch.

Ochako's mind immediately went to that thirty-minute drawing of Katsuki's backside from the first class and she blushed. It had been a long ass time since she'd done that over, well, an ass. Maybe she'd gotten a little desensitized like Neito had said. It was a good thing to still be affected by the human body, but she would've preferred it to happen outside of class.

"Oh, um, they're not that good," Ochako muttered. "Still getting back into the swing of things, you know?"

Izuku snorted. "You say that like you stopped drawing over the summer, which I know you didn't." He leaned forward, propping his forearms on his knees. "If you don't want to show me, that's totally fine. I don't want to push you to do something you're uncomfortable with." He pouted. "Shouto won't show me his work."

"Me either," Ochako said in a conspiratorial whisper that she knew Shouto could still hear. "He's gotta keep his mysterious edge at least a little with us."

His pout transformed into a barely contained smile. "He must drive the girls in his dancing class wild."

"And the boys," Shouto added loftily from the kitchen.

Unable to keep up the act any longer, Izuku and Ochako dissolved into giggles on the couch, their shoulders bumping into each other. While Shouto admittedly preferred his space, the two of them were much more tactile and always had been with each other. It hadn't always been this easy. She'd suffered through a painful crush on him their first year, only for it to slowly fade away by the time their spring semester came to an end. Being this physically close to him when she knew he didn't return her feelings had been rough, but they had strangely grown a lot closer over the summer after the crush faded and moved in together with Shouto the following fall semester. Did people mistakenly think they were dating? A lot, but it didn't bother her anymore.

Ochako leaned over the side of the couch to grab her backpack. "Here, let me just-"

"You don't have to," Izuku jumped in quickly.

"Nah, you know me," Ochako replied dismissively. "Just got that beginning of the semester jitters about my art."

She set her backpack down next to her so she could pull out her notebooks. She had separate ones for the two art classes she was in. Her other three classes were unfortunately to fill out credits and didn't interest her as much. Bio wasn't so bad, but that was partly because Izuku always helped make it fun for her when she took one. Plus, Katsuki was in it too and he was...interesting. She gave him the life drawing class one to look at first. Chances were he wouldn't get much time to look through the other one since the Toshinori Yagi special would be airing soon and the life drawing class was the one she enjoyed most.

The moment Izuku flipped open the notebook, he was immediately captured by her art. She explained the first few drawings so he would understand why they looked so different. One minute did not give you a lot of time to draw a person to the point where sometimes they didn't look human at all. She kind of liked that abstract feeling, like the lines were a hint of a person but could be anything the viewer's mind thought up as well. It was very subjective. Professor Kayama, she knew, liked that as well.

Once he got to the final drawing for that lesson, the thirty-minute piece, Izuku chuckled like a kid and said, "I see you got to draw your favorite part of the male anatomy the longest."

Blush flooded Ochako's cheeks again and she shoved him. "That's not-" She folded her arms across her chest. "You are such a little shit. I don't know why everyone thinks you're so innocent, but Shouto and I know the truth."

Wearing a shit-eating grin, Izuku examined the drawing with a dutiful eye, pointing out details that she liked the most too, like Katsuki's back muscles. She had spent a lot of time on those to get the shading just right. Holy hell, did that boy work out. She definitely wasn't going to complain about that either. To be honest, unlike art students that weren't used to life drawings, a model's body shape or type had never bothered her. They were people and they did their job exceptionally well. She didn't want to draw society's version of the perfect body all the time. Hell, she didn't have one (how Izuku and Shouto went on five mile runs almost every morning was beyond her) and so she liked celebrating the beauty of everyone's bodies.

Of course, it did not hurt that Katsuki was very attractive. She definitely enjoyed the opportunities she got to draw people like Shouto, Mina, or Momo. Considering how much she loved to draw people, she was a very lucky artist to have such good friends that indulged her whims.

Upon reaching the next lesson, which was the fifteen-minute intervals of different poses, Izuku responded in a funny way: his brows furrowed and he leaned forward, as if he could find more details about the drawings if he was closer to the page. "This is the same model as the last session, right?"

"Yeah," Ochako answered. "Kayama likes to keep the same model for a semester. She says it makes it more difficult not to get into a habit with art."

Izuku hummed thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin. He closely examined the next drawing since there were multiple poses on the same page. The more he looked at them, the more troubled his expression became, which alarmed her. Were they...not good? She thought they were okay - a little sloppy in certain parts, but there was always room for improvement and it had been fifteen minutes - but maybe he saw something she didn't. She could stand to work on her perspective. Plus, she'd placed a few of them in awkward spots to fill the page. Next time they did an exercise like this, she'd need to figure out an idea early on and improvise off of it.

"Is everything okay?" Ochako asked hesitantly. "Is it that bad?"

"No!" Izuku exclaimed. "It's not bad at all! These are really good. I mean, yeah, you've already pointed out the stuff you need to work on that I saw as well. It's not that. It's just…" He scratched the side of his head. "I don't know."

Ochako tilted her head. "You don't know what?"

After thinking on it a little longer, Izuku flipped to the next page, which had a more detailed front-facing view of Katsuki, and jumped so hard that she thought he might throw her notebook across the room. Before she could ask him what the hell his deal was, he practically screeched, "Is that Kacchan? Are you drawing Kacchan? Is he your…?" He went from bright red to pale in record time, so fast that she was actually a little worried about his well-being. "Oh my god! That was Kacchan's ass! I saw his ass and-and-"

Izuku slammed the notebook shut and shoved it into her chest so that he could bend over and hide his face in his hands. Ochako could only stare at him in a mixture of alarm and confusion while he muttered to himself so fast and low that she couldn't understand what he was saying. When she turned to look at Shouto, she found him wearing a faintly mind boggled expression as he watched Izuku react very poorly to her art. They connected eyes and he shrugged his shoulders.

Laying a tentative hand on Izuku's back, Ochako carefully asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, I don't know!" Izuku took a deep breath and sat upright, pulling his face out of his hands in the process. The way he glanced at the notebook in her lap suggested it might actually have a horrific curse placed on it. "I'm sorry. I...haven't seen Kacchan in a while and the last thing I was expecting to see what his" - he cleared his throat and looked away - "his private area."

Shouto, ever the blunt person, said, "You can say dick. It's not a cursed word."

Izuku's face flooded red all over again. Ochako shot Shouto a glare, but he only sighed and went back to finishing the dishes.

"Kacchan…" Ochako murmured to herself. "Oh! I remember you talking about him before. You two were friends back in elementary school, right?"

"Mmhm, yeah," Izuku said distantly.

The rest of the story came to her and she frowned. He must have sensed the change in her mood because he looked up to watch her with a guarded expression. "And then he bullied you in middle school and partly through high school."

"It really wasn't that bad!" Izuku insisted, a smile slipping onto his face. It didn't reach his eyes.

Ochako's heart skipped a beat. She loved Izuku dearly, but it had taken her nearly two years to realize how much he kept to himself and hid his thoughts and feelings even more than Shouto sometimes. "Izuku, I-"

"No, it's fine, honestly," Izuku insisted. "I mean it." He looked back down at the notebook again. "We were dumb kids, especially him. Yeah, it hurt and maybe it did take me awhile to get over it, but when I look back on that time, I don't see the hate or anger. I see the fear and insecurities. The social hierarchy is not meant to be upended and I sort of did that in high school." He brightened noticeably. "Besides, by the time we graduated, we were on decent terms. He wasn't so bad at all. We both had to mature a little."

"That's good," Ochako said. She felt a little awkward herself, but then it wasn't like she knew Katsuki or was good friends with him. They'd just met two weeks ago and had barely had any conversations with each other. Maybe it was for the best if she continued to keep her distance from him. She didn't want to make Izuku uncomfortable.

"I've seen him around on campus and we've had two classes together, but we haven't really spoken since we graduated high school," Izuku continued. He seemed more or less okay now. She had been scared that he would be upset, but if he wasn't, then she was okay. It wasn't like she could avoid Katsuki completely out of a sense of loyalty to her roommate. "I think...it might be nice to see him again - maybe see where we stand. He's really smart and confident. I just wasn't expecting to see him, uh, intimately, so it startled me."

Shouto sat down on the floor in front of the television. "Confident? I'd say arrogant is more like it."

Ochako knew better than to argue. Shouto already didn't like him, but then he was very protective of his friends. She didn't really know Katsuki and, even if it had been a few years since they'd spoken, Izuku knew him much better than she did. He did seem confident to the point of arrogant, especially when he stripped down to model for the class, but it felt different than that too. She saw the intense way he approached their biology class. He seemed like the type that was intense about everything he did so he would be good at it. To fail at something, even if it was just modeling for a class, was unacceptable.

Or maybe she was just making things up in her head because she was curious.

"Are the cookies done yet?" Izuku asked, switching the subject. Neither she nor Shouto fought him on it. If he didn't want to talk about his history with their life drawing model, they wouldn't push the subject.

"Cooling down now," Shouto responded.

"Awesome!" When Izuku reached out for the remote, Shouto leaned over to grab it from its designated spot on the television stand and handed it to him. "The show is gonna start any minute. Do you mind if I turn it on?"

Shouto waved a hand at the television. "We're here to be enthralled, aren't we?"

As Izuku smiled happily and turned on the tv to find the right channel, Ochako and Shouto glanced at each other. She didn't need for him to say anything to know what he was thinking. He wanted to confront Katsuki. She shook her head. It wasn't any of their business. Their history was theirs. If something happened, then yes, he could step in, but for now, Izuku clearly wanted to let bygones be bygones. Of course she hated the idea of him being hurt in any way, but he was right. They had been stupid kids. It didn't excuse Katsuki's behavior, but it didn't mean he hadn't grown up and learned from his mistakes. He didn't seem like a bully anymore.

All they could do was wait and see if things changed throughout the semester. Shouto could be professional. After all, no one knew how to compartmentalize like he did. He'd admitted that himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Katsuki was not one to go out on friday nights. His roommates knew this for a fact, so when they did go out for some raucous bar crawl or frat party, they knew better than to push him to go. Sure, they extended the invite to him, but he limited his dumb, wild parties to exactly two nights a year, so they usually limited them to really fun, outlandish occasions, like Halloween or St. Patrick's Day. They had come to an agreement that birthdays did not count and neither did New Year's Eve since it began in one year and ended in the other.

Apparently, bowling alleys didn't count either. He hadn't planned on joining them, but, as they had pointed out, it wasn't a bar or a huge drunken party, so it didn't fall into his no-can-do categories. Besides, with only two weeks in the semester down, he wasn't too bogged down by homework, papers, and exams. He had some time to kill before he really had to start buckling down. That usually happened around week three or, if he was lucky, four. If he ever wanted to hang with them outside of the apartment, now was the time.

In retrospect, he should've stayed fucking home.

The only reason they'd gone was because Eijirou had been invited by a friend from his Physical Ed class. At first, it had been just him going, but then Denki had a freak out moment because apparently the guy he was into was potentially going to be there. Katsuki had never met the guy and had been convinced he didn't exist until Eijirou met him randomly on campus. Since Denki was going too, it had devolved into them asking him to join them and that was how he found himself in one bowling alley that still allowed smoking indoors.

"I'm gonna smell like this shit for a week," Katsuki complained as he waited for his bowling shoes. "You know it gets stuck in my hair."

"You're just mad because you've got a craving for a cigarette," Eijirou said behind him. He was sitting down on a bench and putting on his tacky shoes. Shit, why did bowling shoes have to be so damn ugly? So no one would steal them? "But I won't let you. Denki will because he's weak and can't say no to you, but I'll be strong for us both."

Katsuki snatched his shoes off the counter and muttered, "I'm not craving a cigarette."

He definitely was, but he refused to admit that. He'd quit cold turkey a six months ago after mistakenly taking up the habit with the idea that it would keep him awake in his freshman year of college. There was no way in hell he was going to pick that shit habit back up again. Not only was it stupid, but it was a waste of money. The lingering smell would drive him crazy if he wasn't careful. Maybe a beer or two wouldn't hurt.

"Katsuki?" a vaguely familiar voice called from the front doors. When he turned around to see who had said his name, he froze on the spot. It was her: the cute girl from the art class and bio, Ochako. What the hell was she doing here tonight of all nights? "I didn't peg you for the bowling type."

"I'm not," Katsuki blurted before he could think of his response properly.

"To be honest, I didn't think I'd ever see him bowling again, not after the last time," a very, very familiar voice said behind her. Katsuki's heart almost stopped. He gawked as Izuku of all people stepped out from behind her. A typical as fuck nervous expression was spread across his dumb, freckled face as he awkwardly waved. "Hi, Kacchan. Long time no see."

Eijirou nudged him in the side. "Kacchan, huh?"

Katsuki flushed as Ochako smiled knowingly. "Don't call me that, you damn nerd! We aren't kids anymore."

Izuku waved his hands frantically in the air in front of him like protection. "A-ah, right, sorry, Kac- Katsuki!"

Honestly, could this night get any worse?

"Do you all want something to drink? I was just going to get one of those cheap buckets Ochako is fond of."

Ochako tossed her head back to glare at the person walking up behind them. "Just because they're cheap doesn't mean they taste bad!"

Of fucking course. He shouldn't have opened his damn mouth. That tall, half and half guy appeared behind them, hands in his pockets and a cool look on his face. However, as soon as they connected eyes, that cool look was replaced with a cold glare. No one else seemed to notice since he wore a completely impassive expression on his face, but a shadow fell over Katsuki's face as he stared back. What the hell sort of challenging look was that for? They hadn't said shit to each other.

"I'll get the first game for everyone," Izuku said. "Size 6, right?"

When Izuku wandered to the counter to get them shoes and pay for the game, Katsuki folded his arms across his chest and scoffed. "What? Are you all like together or whatever?"

Ochako sputtered and shook her head. "We're roommates, you dummy! It's called being friends. You don't do nice things for your roommates or friends?"

Eijirou laughed. "He graced us with his presence tonight. That's about as nice as he gets."

"I'm nice, you asshole," Katsuki griped.

"Don't go out very often?" Ochako asked.

"This one?" Eijirou jabbed a thumb in his direction. "He's a homebody, obsessed with school, and a lightweight, if that tells you anything." He was going to strangle his supposed best friend by the end of the night. What kind of betrayal was this? Eijirou held out his hand, which Ochako took and shook. "I'm Eijrou, by the way, one of the guys blessed to live with this pleasant gremlin. Our other roommate, Denki, is…" He gave the bowling a looker. "Well, I don't know where he is, but you'll recognize him as the Resident Dumbass. He means well."

Ochako smiled goodnaturedly. "It's pretty funny that we both came here with our roommates tonight."

"I didn't plan on it until about an hour ago," Katsuki said.

Eijirou pointed to a group of college kids taking over four lanes. They could've all probably fit on two, but it was easier to spread them out or the games would last forever. Besides, it wasn't like this place was packed. They could spare the extra two lanes for their group. "My friend Tetsu invited me, but Denki and I convinced this nerd to join us at the last minute."

As if on cue, Ochako brightened up, her cheeks somehow becoming pinker. "Oh, we're with them too! My friend Neito invited me, but I thought it'd be good for Izuku and Shouto to socialize too." Katsuki frowned in thought. Who the hell was Neito? The name sounded familiar, like he'd heard it from somewhere. "You sorta know him. He's the guy that sits next to me in our art class."

Katsuki swore under his breath. The guy who had drawn his nose all funny in the first class? Yeah, this night just kept getting better and better. If he had known that Blonde Asshole and Candy Cane Asshole were going to be here too, he wouldn't have come. Ochako, he could take, because she was nice, but he didn't want to deal with two passive-aggressive bastards the entire night. He wasn't good at avoiding confrontations.

"Art class…" Eijirou raised his eyebrows. "Oh, shit, you're in the class Katsuki is modeling for!" He burst into laughter, doubling over and wrapping his arms around his middle. "This is great!" When he popped upright, there was a huge, shit-eating grin on his face that Katsuki wanted to slap right off. "You didn't tell me you had such cute girls drawing you. How fun!"

"It's not as fun as you'd imagined," Ochako giggled. "Once you draw someone nude enough times, it kind of loses the appeal."

"Eh?" Eijirou's grin somehow widened. He threw an arm over his shoulder, nearly pulling Katsuki off his feet in the process and making him stumble into his side. "I'm sure there's something appealing about this bloke."

Katuski shoved him off and hissed, "Would you cut it out?"

"I'm only trying to help," Eijirou murmured low enough for Ochako not to hear him. At least, Katsuki hoped she couldn't hear him. His cheeks were red enough as they were, but she either didn't notice or was being kind not to point it out. He hoped it was the former.

For once in his life, Izuku appeared when Katsuki wanted him. He had never wanted to see Izuku in his life until this very moment. "Here you go, Ochako," he said, handing her a pair of ugly ass shoes, tiny compared to his, as he juggled two other pairs in his arm. "I made sure to tell them we were with the group in the corner."

"Ugh, do we have to bowl with them?" Katsuki complained.

"What? You don't want to go against me?" Ochako asked, blinking and smiling at him innocently. He did not like that look one bit. It made him want to squirm. Luckily, he was becoming practiced at standing still under terse and awkward conditions. "Afraid you'll lose?"

"I'll kick your ass," Katsuki snapped.

Her smiled transformed into a smirk right before his eyes. "If you say so."

"Whatever," Katsuki ground out. "You're on, Pink Cheeks."

As he stomped away towards the group putting their names into the computers, Eijirou hot on his heels, Katsuki heard Izuku confusedly ask, "Pink Cheeks?"

Katsuki swore mentally and grit his teeth. He should've kept his damn mouth shut, but the stupid nickname had slipped out without him even considering the consequences. The last time Izuku had heard him come up with a nickname, it had been to mock him and make him feel small. It was a name that had lasted up through high school, although it had seemingly stopped affecting him by then. Still, the last thing he needed was Izuku and that cold ass Shouto on his case thinking he was trying to belittle Ochako. He wasn't.

As Eijirou skipped the steps to jump onto the main floor and greet Tetsutetsu with a fist bump, Katsuki hung back and looked over his shoulder. It was a mistake. With Shouto hovering next to her searching the top row for a ball, Ochako bent over to find a bowling ball that was weighted to her taste. Before he could look away, she glanced back and caught eyes with him. It wouldn't have been so awful if she hadn't knowingly winked and then gone back to her search, making him flush all over again.

He didn't know how to draw, but he was pretty damn sure her backside would've been more pleasant than his to stare at for thirty minutes on end.

* * *

Sitting on the couch long ways with Shouto's feet in her lap, Ochako concentrated hard on painting his toes a shade of blue that matched his eyes. All of that was for naught when he piped up, "You were awfully friendly with Bakugou at the bowling alley."

Ochako nearly splashed the nail polish on his feet. "What? What are you talking about?"

Blush flooded her cheeks despite her mind warning her against it. When it came to social awareness, Shouto had two modes: completely oblivious and exceptionally perceptive. There was no in between. The fact that he brought it up meant that he had seen something between her and Katsuki - and the fact that he wanted until Izuku was out of the apartment meant that he'd been thinking about it, but hadn't wanted to bring it up around him.

Both factors made Ochako's stomach swirl, which was absurd. She didn't have anything to worry over. It had just been a night out with friends and maybe some new ones, even if Katsuki was a super competitive bastard.

"I just noticed you two pairing up a lot throughout the night," Shouto continued as he leafed through one of his massive, wordy textbooks. At least her bio textbook had plenty of pictures.

Ochako ran her nails lightly up the inside of his foot, making him jerk on the couch from being tickled, but he refused to look away from his textbook. Jerk. "It's called being nice - or, like you said, friendly. That's what people do. I know you're as prickly as a cactus when it comes to meeting new people, but others like to play nice."

Shouto merely hummed in response that was neither a consension or disagreement. In truth, he was friendly, but it took him a lot to warm up to people. It was like there was a wall of ice around him, one that he kept both to keep people out and protect himself. Izuku had broken through it early on in their first year, stubborn as he was. Even before he had developed a crush on Shouto, he had unintentionally sought out a friendship with him that was very clearly important to both of them now. Ochako, for all her usual straightforwardness, had been patient, letting that ice thaw until he opened up to her too.

Except now that he was open, he tended to say things that made her blush - like insinuate that there might be a little something going on between her and their life drawing model. That wasn't professional at all.

"You two had your own little competition going on," Shouto pointed out, seemingly unbothered by the topic while she felt more and more on edge. "How many drinks did he end up buying you?"

"Three," Ochako admitted. "No, four - I made him buy Izuku one after his team lost the third game."

A small smile peeked on Shouto's face. "He almost threw a fit over that. It was so stupid."

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that," Ochako sighed as she thought back. It had been funny watching Katsuki's face turn red when she had turned the original bet around on him. Izuku was owed more than a drink, but it was a start. Still, it wasn't fair to put her roommate on the spot like that. "Izuku kept apologizing. I wish he didn't feel like he still had to do that."

As quick as it came, the smile vanished from Shouto's face, replaced by a frown as he stared down at his textbook. She could tell now that he wasn't reading it, his mind focused on something else. "He used to do that a lot in the beginning - like he had to apologize for his existence. I mean, he still apologizes now, but it's not nearly as bad. Now that I back on it, yeah, that did remind me of when we first met."

Ochako chewed on her bottom lip. Izuku had explained to them that Katsuki bullied him in elementary and middle school, but things had become...okay between them in high school. Maybe okay was the wrong word, but she didn't know what the right one was except for absent. With a certain amount of space between them, the bullying might have ended. Plus, if Katsuki was as serious about college then as he was now, he couldn't have anything like that on his high school record. Izuku liked to joke that he'd been a late bloomer.

Still, it...wasn't difficult to imagine Katsuki bullying Izuku back then. He had a temper, but it seemed to be more of a joke to his friends than anything. He was arrogant, use shitty nicknames as insults, and got in arguments over nothing. Throughout the night, however, he had kept his distance from Izuku as much as possible. When they couldn't avoid each other, he remained mostly silent unless Izuku spoke to him directly. Ochako's heart yearned when she pictured Izuku trying to politely reach out to him at random moments.

She could not forget the way Katsuki had smacked his Izuku's hand away when he had held it out to shake after winning. Izuku had simply laughed and scratched the back of his head like it was nothing while Shouto had quietly simmered next to her. Well then, class was certainly going to be interesting on Tuesday.

"You don't like him," Ochako said, continuing to paint his toes. "Katsuki, I mean."

"He's a loud-mouthed asshole," Shouto stated, "and the worst bowler I've ever seen."

Ochako bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling. "I can't believe he accidentally threw his ball into Neito's lane. I've never seen him look so affronted in his life."

"How did he even manage that?" Shouto wondered aloud.

"Izuku said he was banned from their local bowling alley because he accidentally put a hole in the ceiling." Unable to hold it back any longer, Ochako laughed, careful to hold the brush away from Shouto's feet as she did so. She didn't want to get paint everywhere.

Shaking his head, Shouto sighed, "I didn't think anyone could be that bad, but I sit corrected. I don't think he's used to being bad at things. No wonder he avoided it for years."

He wasn't wrong: Katsuki had been awful at bowling. If not for his teammates, they would've come in dead last every single time. Kirishima was the clear best whereas Kaminari floundered in the middle and Shinsou, a floater who needed a team, was the best at spares but could not get a strike for the life of him. They might've done well had Katsuki not, well, sucked horrendously. By the last game, it was clear that he wasn't even trying. However, it had meant that she got four free drinks out of him. She was pretty good, probably on Kirishima's level, but that didn't even matter next to him.

All in all, it had been a fun night. She got to catch up with some friends that she hadn't seen over summer and goof off a little before the semester started to kick their asses. Shouto had more time on his hands this semester due to his strange assortment of classes, but he still fell into the habit of leafing through textbooks for his major. He would never be able to fully shake the seriousness out of him. Izuku would be busy like crazy here soon, even if his brain didn't seem capable of processing a break.

Shouto tapped her calf thoughtfully. He was using her legs as a prop for his textbook while she did his toes instead of doing her homework. Hey, everyone slacked off somehow. Her slacking just involved using her roommates in various shenanigans. "You like him though, don't you?"

"Like who?" Ochako asked, focusing very hard on applying a second coat to his left foot. He shifted that foot to get her attention, causing her to jerk the brush back. "Hey, no moving!"

When she looked up, she connected eyes with Shouto, who had a very knowing look in his eyes. "Katsuki - you like him or you're starting to like him, at the least."

"No I'm not!" Ochako protested.

"I haven't seen you all flirty like that since…" Shouto tapped his pen against his cheek. "Shit, I can't remember that guy's name. Who was he again?"

Ochako rolled his eyes and nudged him with the heel of her foot. "Don't act like that. You used to call him by a different name every time you saw him. I don't even know how you came up with so many names on the spot." She pouted, even though both of them knew it wasn't real. "What if I had actually fallen in love with him?"

"I would've questioned your sanity," Shouto replied. "He was a business major."

"Oh, so you can remember his major but not his name?"

Shouto shrugged. "It's what confused both Izuku and me the most. You - dating a business major? He was so boring. I hate talking with my dad, but at least it usually ends in a fight or dramatically, something interesting." The nerve of her roommate. She loved Shouto, but did he have to be so blunt all the time? "You haven't dated since then. I don't even know if you've been interested in someone."

"I don't have time for dating. Besides" - Ochako fondly pat his leg - "you and Izuku are the only men I have room for in my life."

"That's because we live with you."

Ochako stuck out her tongue. "Makes things simpler." She tilted her head and grinned at him. "Say, you aren't interested in anyone, are you? When's the last time you've been on a date?"

"Anyways," Shouto continued breezily, "I was wondering if you could look through my work so far for our class."

Yeah, that was what she thought.


End file.
